Jordan's Principle: Delays could harm sports funding

Files relating to Jordan's Principle are backlogged in James Bay, which could make it more difficult to obtain funding for sports and recreation.

More than 140,000 cases currently pending in Canada are linked to Jordan's Principle. For the Crees of Eeyou Istchee (the Cree territory located in northern Quebec), this means giving priority to urgent cases.

We are behind, but not as much as the rest of Canadasaid Arnaituk Gagnon-Auclair, who works for the Cree health board and is responsible for Jordan's Principle for Eeyou Istchee cases.

We're about two months behind, which technically is one of the best in the country. But eight weeks is still a long timeshe assures.

Jordan's Principle provides funding for health, social and educational services for indigenous children and youth who lack them.

It is important for Eeyou Istchee to have Jordan's principle [pour] that children have access to the public services they needdeclared Ms. Gagnon-Auclair.

The most common requests from Eeyou Istchee are for services such as speech therapy or funds to add an extra attendant on medical trips for specialist services in the south, she adds.

According to Ms. Gagnon-Auclair, 288 requests were approved over the past year.

If it is an urgent case, you can get a response within 48 hours. It all depends on the degree of urgencyshe specifies.

Some residents of Eeyou Istchee are asking for funds for youth sports activities.

If people had applied under Jordan's Principle before September for recreation and equipment, it workeddeclared Ms. Gagnon-Auclair.

But today, youth sports teams risk not having their funding approved. Jordan's Principle will prioritize more essential requests, according to Ms. Gagnon-Auclair.

Pour Kristen Moar, a former broomball coach, sport is necessary to help children and young people grow.

Thanks to Jordan's Principle, she obtained funding for equipment for the Capitales de Nemaska, a women's broomball team from northern Quebec. Their broomball bags will have their team logo and names on them.

It's a source of pride to be part of a team, but also of the communitysaid Ms. Moar.

The girls have been playing together for more than two years and have outgrown some of their equipment. They are now in the under 10 category.

The support provided by Jordan's Principle has not only helped the girls, but also the parents and caregivers.

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Low-income families face many barriers to obtaining sports equipmentsaid Ms. Moar.

It costs around $300 per player for basic equipment, such as bags and broomball sticks.

That excludes the cost of shoes and other safety equipment, travel and registration fees, which can drive costs up to thousands of dollars per player, according to Ms. Moar.

The Nemaska ​​Capitals won their first championship at the tournament Cree Regional Events and Entertainmentwhich took place on December 10 in Ottawa.

The children were very grateful. It brought a lot of positive team spiritsaid Ms. Moar.

Ms. Gagnon-Auclair, responsible for supporting Jordan's Principle in Eeyou Itschee, hopes to continue to help families.

It is so gratifying to see the bill passed. We feel like we helped someone because they told us their storyshe said.

It's unclear when Canada will catch up on backlogs, but Gagnon-Auclair said the Cree Health Council is always open to finding other funding options.

You can help in this small way to ensure they get funding for the service their child needsfinished Ms. Gagnon-Auclair.

According to a text by Vana Blacksmith, from CBC Indigenous